Hot chocolate, ice skating and an ever elusive Netflix password
by Hetaliawall
Summary: A simple one shot following Francis and Alice as they go ice skating together, unwillingly on her part.


How she got roped into this little adventure she had no idea. She truly didn't. _How_ on earth did she let that _frog_ drag her out to an _ice skating rink_ when she absolutely did not know how to ice skate?

Ah yes, he was infuriatingly stubborn, almost as much as she was. However this time he actually won considering how he had the Netflix password and she _had_ to watch the next episode of Doctor Who…He was honestly the worst, she felt sorry for the poor girl that he was apparently trying to flirt with. She also felt a bit sorry for herself, considering as to how she had been subjected to many "adventures" such as this with the frog. While some were fine, this was going to not be quite. If only she had taken her brother Alfred up on his hacking the Netflix offer…

Regardless she was here now, with him, and he even somehow managed to gain control of the car and drove her to the place that he had picked out to torment her. The drive wore on her nerves as he played French opera music and seemed bent on trying to strike up a conversation with her.

"Don't look so gloomy mon petit lapin! You will have fun, I can assure you! Ice skating is an _art._ "

"I can assure you that I will _not_ have fun _._ I don't even know how to bloody ice skate!"

"I will show you mon amour! Ah, here we are! Doesn't it just look wonderful?"

The ice skating rink before her eyes appeared to her irritated eyes as a dilapidated ruin. The building _seemed_ to be structurally sound but what did she know…

"It's a wonder the place hasn't fallen down or been condemned…"

"Aie! You wound me! This is the oldest ice skating rink in London; I thought that you might appreciate a place with a bit of history, non? You're so very British after all; I know how you Brits enjoy your history."

Alice only responded with a small huff as she gathered her bags and marched out of the car and to the door, his laughter trailing behind her as he caught up to her with wallet already out and ready to pay "like a gentleman".

"You're particularly irritated and grumpy this morning mon lapin, what is it? Not enough tea?"

His joking wit was not something she wanted to hear when she was about to be subjected to eight hours of ice skating and so she chose to ignore him and instead bought her own ticket (mostly just to snub him) and made her way into the rink. She was assaulted with the sound of skates scrapping harshly on the ice, shouting children and a bitter cold…This must be what hell is like.

"Isn't this wonderful? I said it would be wonderful, is it not?"

"….Just put on your skates frog."

His laughter filled their small space behind the wall of the rink and she edged away from him to put on her skates. After fumbling with it for a few minutes and refusing any form of help she finally got the idiotic things on and managed to make it to the ice….Getting across the ice was a whole different story. Within five seconds she had slipped with a thud and landed on her arse, and the frog was offering her his hand.

"Ah, I see now why you are so ill tempered this morning!... Or at least more than usual… ahem, you're not good at ice skating are you?"

Her face burnt like a brand as he hauled her to her feet, and held her upright so that she could stand on the idiotic devices that were called ice skates. She was going to find out whoever made these contraptions and dance on their grave.

"I told you frog, I've never been ice skating since I was _five!"_

"Oui but I didn't think that you would be _this_ bad."

"Bloody _thanks frog…."_

Her sarcasm was met with an infuriating amount of charisma as Francis held both of her hands, having to utterly support her as her legs wobbled and nearly slid out from underneath her, if it had not been for his strong support she would have fallen on her arse a second time.

"Don't you fret mon petite pet! I will not let you fall….er…flat."

Her legs wobbled, her hands clutched onto his support and she looked like an idiot but at least she still had her sharp wit.

"Ah, not only are you a _gentleman,_ but you are also a _poet,_ I must be the luckiest woman in the whole _world._ "

" _Exactly_ mon petite lapin! Allons-y!"

He set off at a turtles pace but even with his help Alice was having a difficult time standing upright even to just be towed around. He of course smiled through it all as _she_ wobbled, nearly fell several times and bumped into other skaters, all of this within a single lap of course. He pulled her a bit closer for stability and led her to start another lap, this time speeding up enough to where her ponytails began to float behind her on the drafts they created. She was a bit surprised by the newfound speed and decided to attempt an escape before they were going too fast for her to stop on her own.

"Alright we've done one lap, I think that's enough for today, don't you?"

"Non, of course not! We are not leaving until you can skate on your own! You may not be as graceful as me, but we can at least get a good start!"

Bloody perfect.

That's it. He was insane. Here they were, lunch time and he somehow thought that she could manage ice skating on her own. Even now, hours later she could hardly stand up on her own. The only enjoyment she got out of this experience thus far was Francis's dialog, he didn't talk excessively but at least he talked enough to save her the embarrassment of being towed around by a man and not even talk to him. However the fatigue was now setting in, as was the chill coming off of the ice, and she was ready to murder someone for a steaming hot cup of tea.

"Francis don't you dare leave me!... _Don't just_ _let go_!"

"You can do this mon lapin! Just glide like a bird! Or like me!"

With that he let go of her hands with a flirty wink, letting her fly off through the rink. With her arms held out like a bird ready for flight, her knees bent ready to fall and her expression ready for either murder or her own demise she must have looked a sight.

As she "glided" through the rink, surprisingly not ending up on her face or arse, she realized that she couldn't stop and started to flail her arms, this only having the effect of making her look like an even bigger idiot as she smacked into the rink wall and fell down beside it.

She was unharmed of course but her pride was not as she heard multiple snooty ice skaters laughing at her, and as she saw the frog gliding over and she got a bit of an evil idea.

"Mon petite lapin are you o-?!"

The frog was cut off by her sticking just a bit of her knee in his path, just enough to make him tumble as she did. It was a bit beautiful to see the "ever so graceful" Frenchman fall flat on his butt in such an ungraceful manner. He wasn't harmed (such a shame), but his pride was where hers was, shattered on the ice.

"Ha! That's what you get for dragging me out here to ice skate and then just letting me go sailing off into a wall!"

He gathered himself well; she had to admit, as he looked up at her with an ever graceful smile.

"So you admit that my plan to have you hold my hand for many hours worked? That's the only thing that you just complained about, the fact that I let go of your hands."

Her face burnt like a brand of course and she huffed, trying to drag herself up with the wall's assistance.

"Well my plan to trip an annoying Frenchman worked."

"That it did mon amour~ Come on, stop being so grouchy and join me for some hot chocolate."

She would rather have some tea but anything hot at this point sounded like a blessing.

"Alright then."

With his assistance she made it up and they left their skates in favor of regular shoes and the concession stand line.

The hot chocolate was steaming and actually decently chocolatey. Not too sweet but not too bitter as well. It was rather nice, even if it did fog up her glasses.

"…I suppose that I do owe you a thank you for the hot chocolate."

"Think nothing of it mon petite lapin! Seeing you flustered all day was enough for me!"

What an arse.

"You really must remind me why I decided to let you drag me here?"

"Because I am in control of the Netflix mon lapin! So tell me, how did you enjoy our first date?"

Alice choked on her drink but somehow managed to swallow the piping hot liquid down before confronting him.

"Our first date?!...Why didn't you tell me that this was a date!...What do you mean it's a date?!"  
A wicked smirk lit up his face, he really must have been very proud of himself. As for herself she didn't know what to think honestly, he was such an odd person if he didn't even tell someone that they were on a date.  
"If I said that this was a date then you never would have joined me! Besides, it's more fun for you to have found out this way! You really should see your face mon lapin."

He laughed and she was really starting to hate that laugh, however she was forced to admit that this was a _bit_ clever of him. Just a bit.

"So I'm the one that you've been flirting with all this time? You friends told me that you were flirting with some woman…. That woman was ME?"

"Oui mon petite lapin! Now, what do you say about another date? Hmm?"

What did she have from this date? A bruised arse, ridicule from other ice skaters and a steaming cup of hot chocolate from a Frenchman who didn't even seem to mind that she tripped him….She really must be insane, but even if she did have an almost horrid time on this date other times that she had been with him weren't quite terrible... He was tolerable at the very least, and even a bit enjoyable to be around when she managed to get the Netflix password from him and they watched a show together, sometimes making small talk that was riddled with wit of course…That wasn't all terrible…It was worth a shot she supposed. After all, any man that bought her hot chocolate after her tripping him could obviously handle someone like her.

"Alright, but no more ice skating."

"Agreed mon amour."

They left their finished drinks behind, and he led her off to the car with his fingers interlocked with her own, still giving her support even off of the ice.


End file.
